More Than Just a Spare
by Hobbsy3
Summary: "Spare? Am I really just the spare?" Little Kili muses the meaning behind cruel words and Fili tries to make his baby brother feel better. A one-shot based in their childhood featuring two outtake songs from the awesome movie that is Frozen. Give it a read if you want some cute child!Fili and child!Kili feels or a quick laugh.


**So exam stress is getting to me (one down, two to go) and I just poured my feelings out over my keyboard and came up with this. It's basically a little one-shot from Fili and Kili's childhood with two songs from it. Both are outtakes (though I wish they weren't) from Disney's "Frozen" and the lyrics have been tweaked slightly. I'd recommend listening to them before/during reading this just to get a feel of the songs - they reminded me SO MUCH of our lovely little Fili and Kili and I just had to right this. **

**The first song is called "More Than Just a Spare" (and it's quite quick compared to the way I wrote if you're listening and reading simultaneously) and the second one is titled "We Know Better" and both can be found on Youtube on a laptop/computer :) It's not necessary to listen, it just gives a better feel. **

**Lyrics are in italics. **

**So anyway, this is my take on applying Disney songs to "The Hobbit" (PS, anyone who says that musicals are weird because no one randomly bursts into song to have conversations has clearly never been to my house :P) **

**So please Read, Enjoy, and Review!**

Kíli was not crying.

Of course he was not crying – he was an heir of Durin! Some dust had gotten in his eye as he ran home and he was a little out of breath - that was all.

"Kíli! What on earth is the matter?" his mother exclaimed as he tore into the house but he just shook his head and ran straight through the kitchen.

"I'm fine, Amad!" he called as he burst out of the back door of their little house into their wide garden, breathing heavily.

He loved their little garden with there shed and their little odds and ends – plus it backed onto the woods and the fence was no longer effective at keeping him out of the inviting trees. Today, however, their garden and his trees brought him no comfort whatsoever.

The cruel words of the townspeople were still whirling around Kíli's head, taunting him and his awkward uselessness. He was used to the children of the village calling him the extra heir, but that was just teasing and he always gave as good as he got, with every child returning with a smile for dinner in their respective houses. Little Kíli had not realised that the older townsfolk thought that way.

"Spare?" he murmured aloud, repeating the word old Miss Lía had used to refer to him, wrinkling in his nose in distaste. "Am I really just the spare?"

Kíli gazed over his shoulder at the house and the rising smoke of the chimneys of the nearby town and sighed heavily as it all became quite clear. The young dwarf began to sing sadly to himself, kicking up a stone near his toe.

"_I'm not part of the town, not born to be king,_

_Just somebody hopelessly in-between." _

An image of his wonderful big brother entered his mind and Kíli smiled a little, bittersweet smile as he sang.

"_He's the scholar, athlete, poet-_

_I'm the screw up - don't I know it!"_

Kíli remembered that day's accident when his sword play games had broken Mister Eivar's good vases. That never happened to Fíli – Fíli was way above breaking things and messing things up. Even Kíli knew he was nothing compared to Fíli, and to an outsider, that lack of skill could make him seem less important.

What Kíli did not know was that as he sang, Fíli had just run through the house himself and was hanging off the back door, craving to ease his brother's sorrow but reluctant to interrupt his sad, sweet singing in case he embarrassed the already humiliated boy.

"_But then who could ever compare?_

_Of course they're gonna think I'm just the spare…"_

Fíli made a step forward at those words but then Kíli's voice took on a mischievous air and a small smirk spread across Kíli's lips.

"_Well I won't care!" _

With a surge of excitement Kíli stared down at himself, pulling at the uncomfortable coat his mother had forced him into.

"_So I'm the extra button on a coat_

_In case another one comes loose,"_

Kíli looked up from his coat at the sky, raising his arms in the universal 'why?" gesture.

"_But if I have to be a button_

_Why can't I be a button that's of use?"_

All of a sudden the little dwarf tripped over a nearby bucket, falling over into it with a loud "Oops!"

Hidden from his place in the doorway, Fíli giggled slightly as his brother shrugged and kept on singing with a sincere, honest look on his face.

"_I may lack style and I may lack grace_

_And once in a while I might fall on my face-"_

Jumping out of the bucket, Kíli turned it upside down and stood on it, throwing his arms into the air dramatically.

"_But this little button deserves a place in the sky!_

_This button wants to fly-"_

All of a sudden Kíli stopped and put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. "Wait, buttons can't fly, it doesn't make any sense!"

Giggling, Fíli glanced over his shoulder to see his mother and uncle talking by the door,. Gesturing frantically for them to stop, he beckoned them over, putting a finger on his lips and pointing at his singing little brother, who was now balancing along a long branch he had brought back the other day for 'firewood'.

"_So I'm a rusty horseshoe hanging up_

_Over somebody's old barn door,"_

Ripping his coat off, Kíli jumped off of the end of the log and ran over to the small woodshed, leaning against it and staring up at the horseshoe above his head with a wistful expression that leaked into his song.

"_And I'll be hanging there forever,_

_Just wishing the horse had one leg more!"_

Pushing himself away from the door, Kíli frowned, thinking of Fíli and tugging at the appalling attempts of braids in his hair that he had tried to copy of his big brother just that morning.

"_And maybe I can't be the perfect one_

_And maybe I err on the side of fun!" _

Fíli recoiled slightly. The perfect one? Did Kíli mean _Fíli? _Fíli was not perfect! He glanced up at Uncle Thorin, whose jaw was tight and his eyes filled with something Fíli did not recognise, so he turned back to his brother.

"_But horseshoes need a chance to run somewhere!_

_This horseshoe is more than just a spare!" _

Sighing softly, Kíli crossed over to the woodpile and pulled out a long, bendy stick.

"_Someday I'll find my thing_

_A thing that's all my own-"_

He stood in the stance he had often observed the archers' adopting and mimed pulling back a bow, imagining hitting Smaug right in the face and killing the dragon once and for ever.

That would make uncle proud, right?

"_That thing that makes me part of something_

_Not just all alone…"_

At that, Fíli felt indignant for a moment. Alone? When was Kíli ever alone – they did everything together! He would never leave Kíli alone! But then it dawned on Fíli and his mouth dropped slightly. Surely Kíli did not mean he was the only dwarf without a 'thing' just because he had not quite gotten the hang of weapons training yet?

"_If only all this feeling I have in my heart_

_Could mean something to someone, how I'd love to play that part!"_

At that moment, Fíli vowed to never, ever let a day go by without him subtly reminding his brother of his golden worth.

Kíli set his jaw in determination, taking a running leap so he could grab the top of the fence before launching into another verse.

"_So I'm just the second born brother_

_Who most of the town ignores," _

Scrambling up with his feet, Kíli balanced on top of the fence precariously, reaching up to grab the overhanging branches of the tree to prevent himself from falling.

"_Like a button, like a horseshoe,_

_Like a boy who's bad at metaphors!" _

Dís chuckled quietly at her young son's antics as he began to clamber up the tree with as much ease as a squirrel.

"_Maybe I don't have a warrior's touch_

_And maybe I don't have a talent as such." _

Kíli shrugged his shoulders and climbed the last couple of branches to the top of the fir tree.

"_Just this heart with much too much to share!" _

With a surge of indignant pride and determined hope, Kíli turned to face the town and swung out into the air, holding the tree trunk with one arm while his hair flowed freely in the wind behind him.

Raising his voice and not caring if the whole town heard (because really, he was not singing to himself, was he? He was singing the things he wished he could say to their faces) he opened his mouth as wide as it could go and sang his little heart out.

"_So I'll never be the heir! _

_But I'm more than just the spare!" _

For a long moment Kíli lingered in the breeze, closing his eyes and allowing himself to feel free for a moment. Finally he sat down on the topmost branch of the tree with a long sigh.

"Kíli? Kee, are you still up there?"

Kíli jumped at Fíli's voice, his cheeks flushing. "I'm here, Fee!"

"Hang on, I'm coming up!"

Kíli frowned slightly, wondering if Fíli had heard his song and if that was why he was scrambling up the tree. Fíli, on the other hand was debating whether or not to tell Kíli that he had heard the song. Dís had made Thorin swear not to tell Fíli's brother that his heartfelt melody had been witnessed lest they embarrass Kíli further, though Thorin had stormed away with a look of determination in his shoulders.

Fíli, on the other hand, had come to join his brother, and upon seeing the slight twinge of embarrassment on Kíli's face he shuffled along the branch and slung an arm over his brother's shoulder. With a grin, he began to sing to his brother.

"_Hello little brother, you're a true heir just like me_

_And I hope you think maybe it's a pretty cool thing to be."_

Kíli looked a little confused, though he did shuffle closer to his brother.

"_And now you see that everyone expects a lot from you_

_They say that there are things a prince just should and shouldn't do." _

Casting his eyes down guiltily, Kíli nodded. He knew then, that running around like a hooligan in the market place was not proper prince behaviour.

Fíli nudged Kíli slightly and tightened his grip on his brother's shoulder.

"_But you and me,"_

Kíli looked up hopefully and Fíli winked.

"_We, we know better!" _

Laughing in pure excitement as Fíli dropped his good coat all the way to the floor below, Kíli shuffled back on the branch and held up his hands for their old, familiar game. Understanding immediately, Fíli began to clap and slap his brother's hands intermittently until they got into their regular rhythm of clapping, slapping and snapping, and that is when their chanting began.

"One two three, together, clap together, snap together!"

They clapped a hand to each other's chests and slapped their knees, before freezing comically with the next line.

"_You and me together, knees together, freeze together!_

_Up or down together, prince's crown together!" _

After head butting each other (because honestly, was that not the perfect way to symbolise a crown?) they grinned and clasped their hands for a moment.

"_Always be together, you and me!"_

Fíli laughed as they launched into the routine again.

"_One two three, together, clap together, snap together!_

_You and me together, knees together, freeze together!_

_Up or down together, prince's crown together!_

_Always be together, you and me!" _

As Kíli giggled, Fíli leant back against the tree with a smirk on his face and continued to sing solo.

"_They say a prince is just full of charm and grace_

_They say he always knows his place!" _

Fíli stared down at his coat that had landed on the forest floor below.

"_They say a good prince wears rich and heavy clothes!_

_They say he never laughs and snorts milk out his nose." _

Kíli snorted at that, elaborating miming Fíli's morning failure that had made a huge mess on the kitchen table and made Amad most irritated.

Sticking his tongue out, Fíli reached out and ruffled his brother's hair as he sang sardonically.

"_They say he's calm, they say he's kind_

_They say he never speaks his mind,_

_Unless he's grown up – what a bind!"_

Kíli grinned, joining in with his brother's singing.

"_But you and me, we, we know better!" _

Fíli mimicked old Mister Eivar's voice from earlier on in the day. "_You boys are in so much trouble, when I'm gonna tell your mother!"_

"Fee, how come you can fight with swords and I can't?" Kíli asked with a sudden lack of confidence.

Fíli shrugged, disheartened by his brother's sudden sorrow. Maybe mocking Eivar was not such a good idea after all. "It's just practise, soon you'll be able to, though!"

Hoping to cheer his brother up some more, Fíli nudged Kíli's arm.

"_They say a prince is so super-duper smart!"_

Catching on, Kíli shrugged with a small grin.

"_He doesn't fight; he rarely swears!"_

Fíli joined in for the next one.

"_And you never see him fart!" _

As soon as he was done giggling, Kíli gestured to his scraped legs.

"_They say a good prince doesn't climb and scrape his knee!"_

Fíli snorted and added-

"_They say a good prince wouldn't spill his tutor's tea!"_

Kíli shuddered and pulled his greatest face of distaste.

"_They say he's dignified!"_

"_They say he's fair!" _

Fíli added, before joining with his brother.

"_He'll never flash his underwear!"_

Sighing wistfully, Kíli looked back over the woods.

"_Or long to see the world out there!" _

Fíli's strong voice drew Kíli back to the melody and he grinned at his brother.

"_But you and me, we, have big ideas of our own!_

_For the distant someday when we're grown!"_

Fíli looked over at the forest Kíli so wanted to explore further, wondering if Erebor was that way.

"_When I'm king…"_

Kíli put his hand on his brother's shoulder with a smile.

"_And I'm your right hand," _

Fíli grinned, making a sincere promise to his brother.

"_You'll get to travel-"_

Kíli joined in eagerly.

"_Throughout the land!"_

Kíli stuck his chin up proudly.

"_I'll tell them of my brother and the brilliant things he can do!" _

Honoured, Fíli drew up his shoulders smartly and saluted at his brother.

"_We'll take care of our people and they will love-"_

Kíli joined him at that point, their young voices curling up into the night and complimenting each other as well as they always would.

"_Me and you!"_

Putting his hands on Kíli's shoulders as they sang, Fíli made sure to get his message across even though Kíli sang the words with him.

"_No one can tell us what a good prince should be,_

_As long as we're together, you and me!" _

Sighing in contentment, Kíli looked at his brother with a smile. "Will we really see the world, Fee?"

"Of course!" Fíli nodded vigorously. "Of course, we'll see loads of it on the way to Erebor."

There was no doubt in his mind that they would reclaim Erebor, so Kíli asked his other niggling doubt, though his eyes trailed downwards as he did so.

"Fee?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I…_am_ I just the spare? The one Amad had in case something happened to you?"

"No!" Fíli cried so passionately that Kíli had to look at his distraught brother. "That's rubbish – old Lía is full of old rubbish and she knows nothing about us, Kíli! How can you be the spare when I need you so much, hm?"

"But you don't need me, do you really?" Kíli admitted with a soft sigh. "I kind of get in the way, Fee."

"Then don't you ever stop getting in my way, you understand?" Fíli said firmly, looking down at the two buttons on his shirt. "See this button?"

Kíli nodded as his brother fingered the first, most important button.

"Well, this is the 'me' button. This other one is 'you'." With that, Fíli ripped the button that represented himself off of his shirt and threw it as far as he could into the woods. Amad would yell at him later, but hopefully it would be worth it.

"Fíli!" Kíli cried in shock, but Fíli held up his hand.

"Look! The Kíli button is still holding my shirt together. I don't need me, Kíli, I am me. I need you, though, or my shirt'll fall apart."

It may have been a clumsier metaphor than even Kíli's, but to Kíli there was no better comparison in the world and he threw himself into Fíli's arms.

"I love you, Fee!"

"I love you, too." Fíli laughed. "You're not a spare, Kíli. I promise."

A light snowfall began to flutter downwards as the two brothers sat in peace, and all a sudden Kíli gasped, his eyes lighting up in wonder.

"Fíli!"

"What?"

Kíli waggled his eyes at his big brother. "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

**I hope that might have made you smile a little :) If there's interest I might do more Disney (or even just song) one-shots in the future but who knows? This was really just a drabble I thought some people may find mildly entertaining, so I hope you liked it!**

**Let me know what you thought :) **


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